Parents of students attending London Elementary School are concerned about school meal food portions and the size of some classes.

The Russellville School Board heard a number of concerns from parents of students who attend the elementary school at its monthly meeting Tuesday night.

Riley Keele, spokesperson for the London Elementary School parents, explained one of the concerns regarded London elementary’s satellite food service program. According to Keele, the portion sizes need adjustment so the children are properly fed.

“The food service program provides the same portion size to all kids, kindergarten through eighth,” said Keele. “However, a kindergartner does not require the same nutrition as an eighth-grader. The portion sizes need to be adjusted.”

Keele explained the factor that nutrition is a vital part of the education process, and that it all begins with the proper quality and quantity of the food provided.

Morgan Barrett, board president, said the district knew there would be challenges to switching to the food service system.

“Going into this, we knew that it was going to a bit bumpy,” Barrett said. “It is going to be a continuous feedback program.”

Another concern addressed the combining of London Elementary’s third-grade classes. According to Keele, combining the classes will cause learning issues due to the overall size of the class.

“We do not have the staff capability,” Keele said. “We are worried about the composition that the class will bring about. We are worried that the combining of the classes will affect the learning abilities of our students.”

Superintendent Randall Williams explained that combining classes is a part of maintaining efficiency.

“It’s always about the numbers and trying to be efficient,” Williams said. “If we get to the point that we see that we will have more students than we can handle, we will look into the hiring of an additional staff member.”

In other business, the board:

• Recognized the district’s 2012-13 teachers of the year.

• Approved a plan to move forward with the initiate Russellville High School 1:1 Initiative. The program will allow students to learn via electronic equipment.